Joey Only

Georgia Straight 2005 There’s no shortage of hipster-approved hot spots on Main Street, so it says something about Joey Only that he chooses Duffin’s Donuts as a meeting place. When the Georgia Straight sits down with the ex–squeegee kid turned anti-folksinger, there’s not a white-belted scenester to be found. At the tables out front, 40-something labourers slurp coffee served in white Styrofoam cups. Inside, pensioners who moved to Main decades before it was cool occupy tables that, two years from now, will no doubt be packed with the same indie-rock kids who line up at Bon’s Off Broadway. For now, though, Duffin’s is the domain of the poor and the working class, which is why Only likes it. If the Ontario expat identifies with those who don’t have a lot, it’s because he’s been there. A few years back, he spent time thumbing rides on Canadian roads and highways. That taught him a valuable lesson: we’re not all created equal. It’s no surprise then that Only’s debut disc, Radical Folk of the Great White Nor... more...